Marble Mountain will open Thursday with lower slopes ready to go

Corner Brook native Kalen Street makes his way down Marble Mountain on his snowboard as the Steady Brook ski resort put out the welcome mat for opening day. - The Western Star

It’s been a hectic few days for Marble Mountain’s outside crew, but Tony Abbott is a happy camper knowing there is a reward for their hard work.

Marble Mountain is expected to open Thursday at 10 a.m. with the Newfie Bullet and magic carpets open for snowboarders and skiers to tackle a mountain that was a flowing river only a couple of days ago as heavy rain wreaked havoc on the Steady Brook resort.

Abbott, who is the chief operating officer at Marble Mountain, said the lower slopes are ready to go after staff had the snowguns going full force in Tuesday night’s freezing remperatures.

He said his staff has been working around the clock with excavators all over the hill trying to clean up the mess of debris left behind in the wake of the heavy rainfall before making some snow to fill in the bottom of the hill to ensure the slopes be open sooner rather than later.

Crews were busy Wednesday afternoon preparing the top of the mountain with the snowguns firing away in an effort to get the Lightning Express detachable high-speed chairlift at the top of the mountain open over the next few days.

“It’s been crazy, but you got to do what you go to do because we got a short year and we need to get this place moving,” he said. “You just can’t give up. You have to keep at it.”